Toyota's Euro-market rival for the VW Golf and Ford Focus is getting a facelift with new engines, equipment, sheetmetal and cabin space. It's set to debut at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show alongside the new Avensis.

After dropping a teaser image on us a few weeks ago, Scion has revealed in full the new iM Concept it's bringing to the Los Angeles Auto Show next week. As expected, the concept is clearly a rebadged version of the Euro-market Toyota Auris, only with some "European Racing Circuit Styling" upgrades to make it look more aggressive.

When the doors open at the LA Auto Show in a few weeks, Scion will be on hand to showcase its new iM Concept. But considering what little Toyota's youthful brand has revealed about the concept so far, it's led to rampant speculation. And the prevailing wisdom seems to point towards a production iM arriving as a Scion-badged version of the Toyota Auris.

Scion seemed like such a good idea when it was first launched. Toyota's aim was to provide young people with stylish, affordable cars that would serve as a gateway to the automaker's family of products. It was also supposed to be something of an incubator for new ideas that were too radical for its more conservative Toyota and Lexus brands. Over a decade since its launch, the brand has languished, and today's showroom is populated by slow-selling and aging vehicles that have often been slow to r

The hopes of car enthusiasts are often vain little things; bordering on irrational desires for technologies and form factors that the market has declined to buy in volume, at least in North America. Manual transmissions, diesel engines (although slightly more mainstream these days), compact pickup trucks and, of course, station wagons, are all variations on the well-worn theme here. And so, when we come across a rumor that one or more of these items from our wish list might be upcoming, and a su

Japan and Europe are getting a redesigned Toyota Auris hatchback, one that can use start/stop to increase efficiency. Launching today in Japan, the new Auris comes in a few trim levels, with the most efficient package being the 1.5-liter model with Super CVT-i transmission and optional Toyota Stop & Start idling-stop function for 19.2 kilometers per liter (45 miles per gallon) on the lenient JC08 test cycle. All of the 1.5-liter models qualify for incentives under the Japanese government's G

Toyota's newest European market hybrid is now being launched and has an official price tag in the UK. The Auris hybrid will be priced starting at £18,950 ($27,000 USD at current exchange rates) for the T4 model with the T Spirit running £20,700 ($29,600 USD). The Auris hybrid uses the same powertrain as the latest Prius with a 1.8-liter inline four-cylinder gas engine mated to Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive.

Toyota has just released more details on its new Europe-only Auris HSD model. The Corolla-based Auris will be the first Toyota hybrid model to be assembled in Europe starting this spring. On the EU drive cycle it has scored a very impressive 61.9 miles per gallon (U.S.) with CO2 emissions of just 89 grams per kilometer. Toyota still hasn't said exactly which powertrain the Auris is using, but since its consumption and emissions numbers match the corresponding figures for the Prius on the same te